I am a licensed clinical social worker who just happens to adore the written word. I have had a private practice and am now writing a memoir on my life in the company of my father and many of my clients who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I hope to dispel some myths and break down some barriers for those with mental illness.
I write out of need and complete joy, which I hope to convey throughout my blogs. The human experience is not exclusive to one group. I hope to appeal to most as I touch on some pretty heady material with some self-deprecating humor and raw emotion thrown in for good measure.
I have four amazing children, one HUGE dog and a tolerant husband. I am blessed.

The human experience in all its glory….

All posts tagged: critical thinking

SHE goes to sleep right beside you. SHE thrives on remaining close and reminding you of who you are and what you are made of as the last thing you think about before nodding off. In your heavy sleep SHE sometimes belongs to that dream state you wake up from when the alarm you set for work abruptly goes off. Lifting your head off the pillow you shrug and wonder what it was that you were just […]

“Feel the fear, then do it anyway”. I love it. It sounds so darn simple, it might just work! I thought this for a good split second. And if it were to work, it would be the most perfect idea I’d ever come across when it comes to handling anxiety. Unfortunately, it’s way too simplistic for those of us who’s anticipatory fear is severe and debilitating. It’s almost like telling a coma patient to “just snap out of it and join us for […]

Don’t close your eyes. This is your life: Are you who you want to be? This is your life: Is it everything you dreamed that it would be? When the world was younger and you had everything to lose. Switchfoot It had a hard-hitting beat. I used to run with it blaring loudly into my earbuds. It has always been one of those songs that has pushed me to think deeply while charging through my pain even harder than I’d […]

See that? Even these old rusted out cars aren’t alone. Wonder where they were headed? Seems I read about them travelling somewhere in Asia. An earthquake hit and everyone who was able, evacuated their cars and walked to safety. No one ever retrieved their cars as the road was no longer useable. Cars all crushed and mangled together. It’s been many years since. Vehicles as far as the eye can see. This is prompting me to think way more deeply than […]

Now that’s a concept “Both/And”….What the “F” am I talking about? (I refuse to use the f word in this blog as I am talking, in part, about my dream guy, who just happens to be a Franciscan Priest for Christ’s sake. That wasn’t a swear word either as I meant it quite literally. Geez…) In Richard Rohr’s amazing book, Falling Upward, he speaks about “Dualistic Thinking”. Much as the term “Manage My Now” in my last […]